This honestly was one of the prettiest entremets I have made in a while, and it came together so organically. I always loved the combination of strawberry and rhubarb, because that is two tart ingredients(rhubarb being a bit more bitter and strawberries veering a bit more sweet), which makes for an automatic foil to sugar in a dessert. I love cooking with both ingredients, especially in the summer when both are readily available, and they both just taste so fresh and light. I have done strawberry-rhubarb desserts in the past, but this one worked out so well. I already had an idea that I wanted to make this gelee disk with the two ingredients and set that into a mousse cake for a visual contrast. But what I did not account for was how perfectly my bias-cut poached rhubarb would fit when arranged around the perimeter of that gelee circle. I did not think that the mousse would sit so cleanly on the white chocolate feuilletine base, which was an afterthought since I was so focused on making the mousse that I realized only after the fact of the mousse already setting up that I needed a crust or base of some sort for the mousse to sit on. That and my herb garden was gifted me some cute pink corn flowers, and those just added another pleasant finish to an already pretty-in-pink mousse cake! Everything just lined up perfectly, and I just wanted to commemorate and acknowledge that. It feels like more times than not, at least for me, we remember the times we struggled or suffered. But I wanted to take this moment to appreciate a time where things where things went well, and everything worked out in the end.

For the layers, we have disks of strawberry-rhubarb gelee, strawberry mousse, elderflower-poached rhubarb and clear glaze, and white chocolate feuilletine base. This recipe does hinge on using pureed strawberries – I just took really ripe strawberries and blended those with water to form my strawberry puree, and that was the base for both the gelee disks and the mousse itself. Awkwardly, both of those components are the biggest time-sucks in this recipe. The gelee needs to be set, ideally frozen solid, just so that you can cleanly transition the disks into the bigger molds that you’ll be layering with the gelee and mousse. And then once you have the mousse and gelee layered up in a ring mold, that will need to freeze again. So expect at least 3 hours of total waiting time for everything to freeze and set. The poached rhubarb is a very quick poach, only 3 minutes. And I loved the idea of doing a clear glaze, using the leftover poaching liquid that will have elderflower and imparted rhubarb flavor, just to use up that poaching liquid, and since the clear glaze will give a smooth, clean finish. The entire mousse cake is sitting on a simple base made from tempering white chocolate with feuilletine(sweet, flaky pastry bits). All in all, this was one of those recipes where I am grateful that everything really worked out, and the end result I am extremely proud of!

Makes 6-inch mousse cake, or 6-8 servings:
For the strawberry puree:
2/3 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
2 tbsp water
a pinch of salt

Puree everything in a blender until smooth.

For the strawberry-rhubarb disks:
1/4 cup fresh strawberries, pureed
1/4 cup diced rhubarb
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp agar
a pinch of salt

In a pot, heat the puree with rhubarb and sugar up on low heat until the rhubarb is fully broken down. Then add to that the agar and salt, and allow both to dissolve into the fruit puree. Line two 5-inch ring molds with cling wrap. Divvy the fruit among the two ring molds. Transfer to the freeze and freeze solid before attempting to unmold.

For the strawberry mousse:
1/3 cup fresh strawberries, puree
2 tbsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped stiff
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a pot, melt the gelatin, sugar, and salt into the puree. Allow the puree to cool down to room temperature before folding in the cream and vanilla.

For initial assembly:
Line a 6-inch ring mold with cling wrap. Place down one disk of the gelee, then pour in half of the strawberry mousse base. Then add in the other disk of gelee, then the rest of the mousse. Freeze this solid before attempting to unmold.

For the white chocolate feuilletine layer:
1/4 cup white chocolate
1/3 cup feuilletine
a pinch of salt

Melt half of your white chocolate in a double boiler. Take off heat and stir in the rest of your white chocolate first, then your feuilletine. Spread the mixture into a flat 6-inch disk and refrigerate until set, about 10 minutes.

For the elderflower-poached rhubarb:
1 stalk rhubarb
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp elderflower liquor
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp lemon juice

Cut the rhubarb on a bias. In a pot, bring the water, sugar, elderflower, salt, and lemon juice to a simmer. Once the sugar is dissolved, place the rhubarb in the pot and allow it to sit in there for 3 minutes. Fish out the rhubarb and reserve the poaching liquid for the clear glaze.

For the clear glaze:
Reserved rhubarb poaching liquid
1 tbsp gelatin powder + 2 tbsp cold water

Melt the gelatin into the poaching liquid to form your clear glaze. Allow the glaze to cool down to 90 degrees F.

For final assembly:
Pink corn flowers

Pour the glaze onto the still-frozen strawberry-rhubarb mousse(make sure that the strawberry-rhubarb disk side is facing up!). Allow the excess glaze to drip off and the glaze itself to set before transferring the mousse onto the feuilletine.

Arrange on the top the rhubarb slices and pink corn flowers to finish.